Tokyo Hibernian 3 - 2 France F.C.

Well, what can one say about a comeback like that! Just as that little Aussie battler Lleyton Hewit is famous for his victories showing true grit and guts to come from behind, the Hibs are gaining a similar reputation. We keep grinding out victories in tough and close games. This was a huge game for the Hibs against a resurgent France that had recently beaten the Swiss and the BFC. Your scribe was out with an infected leg that, with a bit more work, would be a welcome prop for a Calcutta beggar looking to boost his income. Josh was running late (again), Dave T back in Ireland and new striker Yohei, Andy M and Tetsu unavailable we were slightly depleted at kick-off.
France FC jumped out of the blocks running and went 1-0 ahead with a good finish to the French player who volleyed a looping ball on the turn to leave Hitoshi with no chance. Our heads went down and we went into our shells. We then went 2-0 down 10 minutes before half time. Despite close marking the tall French midfielder headed a ball, still rising from a well struck corner, into the net close to he near post. It just goes to show how a well delivered set piece ball put in the right place can be very difficult to defend against. It remained 2-0 to France FC until half time. We couldn’t really be upset or blame ourselves for either of the goals, but we had not played well at all in the first half. It seemed as though everyone was waiting for someone else to do something special and no one wanted to take control.
Josh had the kick off times mixed up and arrived for the game just before half time. He made amends for his tardiness 2 minutes into the second half with a thumping drive from 20 yards that put the Hibs back in it at 2-1. Not 5 minutes into the second half and Ricky the Ref awarded us a penalty for handball. Keita sent the keeper the wrong way with a well taken penalty and it was 2-2 with 35 minutes to play. What a turn around in 5 minutes! We had many chances in the ensuing 30 minutes of second half play. After some good lead up work by Mick, Daniel turned well and thumped a shot against the bar from 10 yards. Yasu was put through by Keita and miss-hit his chip when the back post beckoned. It seemed as though we were going to have to make do with a draw as time ran down. With 1 minute remaining, we received a free kick just inside our half and Kuni Hosoi hit a long speculative ball designed to land right “in the mixer”. The ball floated through to the French keeper, who let the ball slip through his hands and it sailed into the net. 3-2 to the Hibs and the French barely had time to kickoff. Wow! What a win.
The French then performed their now predictable act of blaming the referee for their loss, moaning and accusing through the entire post match ceremony. As we have played and beaten France FC regularly over the last few years this type of behavior came as no shock. Seeing them lose graciously would have been the real surprise! Josh made a huge difference when he eventually got to the game, scoring a cracking goal and closing down many potentially dangerous attacks. He was well up for it and lifted those around him. As we were going onto the field for the second half, he did say almost prophetically to anyone that would listen – “OK lads, we’re gonna win this, believe me we will win this game”. Of the rest, Daniel held the ball up well never stopped trying and was always a threat to the French defenders he probably deserved a goal. Next week against the BEFC let’s start playing from the opening whistle.

Bevan